The Future of Fowl
by RavenWriter89
Summary: Something they had never heard of had captured Artemis in a way they never expected and took him to a place they couldn’t find. That guy could really pick ‘em. Set 15 years in the future. Nominated for the Orion Awards.
1. Chapter 1: Reminiscing

_This is my first fanfic. It started off as just the reunion scene, but people wanted it to be continued. Thanks you reviewers! Hope you like it! I will update more chapters as I write them. Please be patient; I'm my biggest critic._

R E M I N I S C I N G

Artemis Fowl the Second gazed out the window of his corporate skyscraper in Dublin. He looked out over the Fowl empire he had helped build. _His_ empire now, he reminded himself. His father had handed executive power over to him three years ago, but he had controlled it far longer than that. At thirty, he was now one of the youngest multi-millionaires on earth. He was well known in business circles, even to the point of having his name become a catchphrase. People who succeeded while not appearing to work hard were said to have "Fowled with gold." With such success, many were surprised that he was still unmarried. In fact, some business magazines listed him as the trade world's most eligible bachelor. They also wondered if he would be the last Fowl heir.

He was quite happy with his success. Almost all of it was done through very legal and aboveboard practices. Although, he thought with a wry grin, sometimes he did have to "help it out" a little. But, all in all, he had formally renounced his criminal ways. He didn't need to steal for financial gain anymore, but the thrill of the challenge never left him. He sometimes caught himself eyeing a rare piece of art or other hard-to-catch prize and wondering how easy it would be just to take it, or at least borrow it for awhile.

He was feeling oddly reminiscent today. His thoughts drifted towards his old friends. Butler had retired some years ago, not entirely voluntarily. He was now helping train other would-be bodyguards in Switzerland. Artemis's head of security was once Butler's best protégé. At first Butler had insisted that he stay in Ireland to protect Artemis himself, but as Artemis put it, protect him from what? With each passing year fewer and fewer people wanted to kill him. Besides, Butler was now feeling his age, which biologically speaking was around 65.

Juliet was charting her own course in the world. His most recent letter from her had been from Brazil. She was now conquering the Amazon jungle with her husband Stefan. The two were perfectly matched as far as Artemis could see. They had met on an Arctic exploration team, and neither of them backed down from a challenge. They had taken their vows while spelunking, for Pete's sake.

His parents were still living at the mansion, but continued to jet off to exotic locations for what they called "redundant honeymoons." They were as happy as Artemis had ever seen them.

And Holly. He missed Holly more than any of the others. At least they could be contacted far more easily than she could. Artemis hadn't spoken with Holly in almost ten years. No, wait, it had been longer. When did he speak to her last? It was with the sprite thing, wasn't it? That had been, God, thirteen years ago. Artemis was amazed at how such a seemingly close friendship had faded. He had gotten swamped with work when he turned eighteen, namely continuing to make the family business as respectable as possible. Holly had apparently needed less of his help over the years. In the last message she had sent him, she'd said that they had a business boom. Mostly jealous spouses spying on each other, but work was work. With a small chuckle he wondered if Holly was still tolerating Mulch as a partner, or if he had mysteriously vanished by her hand.

Artemis had gotten into the habit of checking out the tabloid headlines each day. Any mention of strange little men being sighted, or weird new technology being discovered could potentially uncover the existence of the People. He found he had become very protective of their secret. He didn't want someone finishing what Opal Koboi had started.

Artemis turned sharply away from the window and walked over to his large mahogany desk. He removed a key from his breast pocket and opened a small safe that he had installed in his office. To anyone who knew Artemis, they would have been surprised that a former criminal mastermind would only have a keyed safe instead of anything state-of-the-art. But the key only opened the first door; when this was opened it revealed a keypad. This only opened with the right six-digit code and fingerprint. Artemis knew that any determined elf or resourceful dwarf could crack it, but it was good enough to discourage human thieves.

Inside was a stack of rather unremarkable papers. Artemis reached beneath these and pulled out the two-way communicator Holly had given him all those years ago. It looked more than a little battered, as Artemis never went anywhere without it. But he had rarely used it. He flipped it open to see the view screen. It switched on easily enough, but when he tried to call Holly he got nothing but static.

Odd, he thought. He tried the other contacts listed with no result. Artemis sighed and replaced the communicator in the safe. Then he got back to work.

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Three days later, Artemis was working out the details on a Japanese contract when his e-mail dinged. He looked up in surprise to see that he had a new message. Warily he opened it, expecting someone downstairs wanting attention. Instead, the entire message contained dozens of lines of complete garbage. Wondering who would send him such a waste of time, he looked at the address. His eyes widened in shock when he saw it was from "horsesense.gno." That was Foaly's address. Foaly was trying to contact him. His heart leapt with anticipation. But how to decode the message? Artemis smiled when he noticed the now obvious pattern in the lettering. Foaly had known Artemis would have no trouble with it. For all the excess lines, it was a short message:

FOWL, URGENT NEWS FROM HAVEN

HOLLY TO COME ABOVEGROUND

MEET HER AT MANSION IN 2 DAYS

AVOID LEP IF POSSIBLE

So this was just business, not a pleasure trip. Artemis felt disappointed for a moment. As much as he loved working with Holly, he had hoped to be able to catch up with her first. He wondered what could have happened at Haven now. At least they couldn't blame him this time. Trying to feel inconvenienced, but feeling more excited than he had in years, Artemis started preparations. He called Butler first. If something went wrong, he wanted someone there who knew about the fairy population and could offer advice. He was grinning wildly as he dialed. Fowl and the fairies, back on the case. How he missed it.

_Read on for more…if you dare!_


	2. Chapter 2: Reunion

_If you made it this far, congratulations! You haven't gotten tired of my prattling yet. I know I take a long time to get to the point. Forgive the fluffiness of the reunion scenes. Thanks for the reviews!_

R E U N I O N

Holly Short hadn't changed a day. Why should she? Fifteen years meant nothing to a fairy that could easily live to be 500. Her appearance had hardly changed. Her auburn hair had grown out a bit, and she wasn't packing every sort of high-tech fairy arsenal available, but other than that she was the same spunky elf she had always been. Though at the moment she didn't feel very spunky. She was walking through a wet field in the dead of night, being forced to listen to the never-ending chatter of her partner.

"Hey, did I ever tell you about the time I stole all of the Academy Awards? And right when I had the last one in my hands, I was nearly eaten by guard dogs and a Mud Man covered in pillows? I barely escaped with my life, I did. And then, the actress came out with teabags around her eyes. Can you believe it? Honestly, the things these people try to do to look younger. Maybe the altitude gets to them, eh? Living in those high-rises. Crazy. What's wrong with a nice cave, huh? A nice dark hole in ground. Hello, what's this?"

Mulch had found something in his pocket. Luckily it distracted him enough so he stopped talking. Holly sorely missed having a good pair of wings to buzz around with. But it was exceedingly difficult for a civilian to get their hands on them. Especially when said civilian was an ex-LEP officer whom the commander didn't like. So both she and Mulch had been required to walk the three miles from the fairy port to the Fowl mansion. Mulch continuously mentioned how much faster digging would be, but Holly wouldn't let him out of her sight. They would just have to take the long way.

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Artemis Fowl Sr. had hired a butler. A butler in the traditional sense, not the huge, muscle-bound, gun-toting image of the actual Butler family. One that dressed in black-tie formalwear and spoke with a British accent. He was even named Alfred. He had been employed more out of fun than out of a real need of a servant. Artemis Fowl Jr. never understood why he was hired. Alfred was a joke, and he probably realized it, but he did his job amazingly well. Artemis was greeted at the door by him, and had to bite back a smile at the man's curt manners.

"Good evening, Master Fowl. May I take your coat? Mr. and Mrs. Fowl are in the French Rivera all this week. Mr. Butler has already arrived, and is in the sitting room. Shall I escort you?"

"No, thank you, Alfred. I think I can find my way." _I've only lived here for the first twenty years of my life_, he thought. He was amused at the thought of anyone calling Butler "Mr." Few people did that twice. He walked into the sitting room to find Butler idly reading the paper. He was as tall as ever, but not quite as large. Coming back from the dead had been hard on his body. He was still clean-shaven, including his skull, but Artemis could see his hairline had started to retreat. Fine lines framed his eyes and mouth. Scars stood out clearly on his arms. Butler looked up and saw Artemis watching him. He smiled and stood up.

"Artemis. It's been too long," he said as he shook hands with his former employer.

"It's good to see you, Butler," he said as he returned to handshake. Suddenly he was pulled into a rough hug. Butler still had incredible strength, Artemis realized as he was crushed against the massive chest. He hadn't met with Butler in over a year. Had he seen any of his friends recently? He felt like a child again, remembering all those times Butler had saved his life. Domovoi, he mentally corrected. Now that they weren't employer and bodyguard, Artemis was free to call him by his first name. But it still felt awkward.

Butler released him, then stood back to study his friend. "Your father would be very proud if he saw you now," he said earnestly.

Artemis laughed uncomfortably. This much genuine emotion was a little disconcerting, especially from Butler. "Did you get my message?" What a stupid question. Of course he did, otherwise he wouldn't be here. Butler sensed Artemis's discomfort and instantly switched to his usual brisk manner.

"Yes, but I haven't heard anything from them yet," _Them_ meaning Holly, Mulch, or Foaly. Suddenly Alfred knocked at the door.

"There is a Mr. Digger at the door, sir. Shall I let him in?"

"Digger? I don't know any Dig-" Comprehension dawned on Artemis. "Yes, of course. Let him in. And any guests he might have with him," he added. Holly had already been told she could come anytime she wanted but better invite her in all the same.

Alfred's impeccable training did not allowed any emotion to show on his face. "Yes, sir."

Butler turned to Artemis. "Do you know what this is about?" he asked softly.

Artemis shook his head, saying, "No, but I know it's important. Something happened in Haven. Something bad."

Alfred was only gone a minute before he came back saying with some distaste, "Mr. Digger has requested you meet with him in the kitchen."

Artemis smiled. Of course he would. "I shall meet him shortly. Please make sure we are not interrupted." Alfred nodded and retreated to some unknown corner of the house.

He turned to Butler. "Ready for another adventure, old friend?"

"I am if you are," he grinned wolfishly.

_Again, please feel free to read on. It gets better. I promise. There are cookies at the end._


	3. Chapter 3: Relax

_This was I last chapter I had originally planned to do, but since people wanted more (keep the reviews coming!) I felt obligated to write more. Enjoy!_

R E L A X

Holly sat on the counter, shielded from human eyes as Mulch helped himself to the fridge.

"Butler's not going to like you eating all the caviar," she warned.

"Butler's never liked me anyway, so why should he start now?" Mulch replied with his mouth full.

Holly hopped down from the counter and started pacing. She knew Artemis had changed from his more devious ways, but the secret she carried with her was too important to dismiss any suspects. Or allies.

The kitchen door opened. Holly was still shielded so she could observe without being observed. She was inexplicably nervous. She hadn't seen Artemis in over a decade. He had been an awkward teenager that last time she clapped eyes on him. Would he still be the same? Holly felt very vulnerable without her gun at her hip.

Butler came through first. He had aged, but was still recognizable. Holly had always taken comfort in the fact that Butler was constantly ready to be a comrade in arms. She didn't know who else she would rather have protecting her back.

Butler moved aside to reveal a much different character than she remembered. She was speechless for a moment, barely hearing Butler trying to remove Mulch from the fridge. She had to look up, and up, to see Artemis's face. He had gotten his father's height, and was close to six feet, Holly judged. This was not the boy she had met so long ago. Nor the teenager trying to pass for an adult. Artemis had matured into a respectable, and handsome, looking man. After the first shock, she saw that many things were still the same about him. He still wore expensive suits, but now he looked like he deserved to wear them. He walked with a hint of the familiar arrogance she was used to. His hair was as dark and thick as she remembered, cut in a casual wave that dipped over his forehead. His eyes were still deep blue, but instead of being cold and unreadable, they were bright and full of life. His skin was no longer as pale, making him look much healthier. He was asking after her, and laughed at something Mulch said in response. Laughed? The Great Artemis Fowl, laughing? He smiled, and Holly was amazed at the transformation in his face. He said something back to the dwarf, who tried his best to look indignant while Butler hid a smirk. That convinced Holly she was losing her mind. Artemis, having a sense of humor? No way was that possible.

Artemis looked around the kitchen, his eyes passing over Holly. He did a double take when he spied Holly's telltale shimmer. "Holly? Aren't you going to grace us with your company?" he asked teasingly.

Holly unshielded, and was painfully aware of her three foot height compared with these giants. She felt uncomfortable under Artemis's penetrating gaze. His expression was suddenly serious. His talent at seeing through people hadn't changed either. Silence had fallen in the kitchen, except for Mulch's chewing. Artemis knelt in front of Holly. She didn't know what to say.

With unexpected sincerity he said, "God, I've missed you." Holly realized that she had missed Artemis as well. She never thought she would.

"You've changed," she said simply.

"For the better, I hope," he said with a smile. Holly suddenly understood why Artemis had seemed so different, not just in appearance, but in other ways. He was much more relaxed, much more open to people because he no longer had prove himself. As a child genius, people always treated him as they would a normal child his age. Now that he was older, people treated him as an equal. His body had matured to match his intellect. He could finally be human.

"You're still the same old criminal in my eyes," she said, and, to everyone's surprise, especially her own, she threw her arms around Artemis and hugged him. He laughed and hugged her back.

Mulch was watching all this, feeling bored. Sure, it was a touching reunion, but that wasn't why they had come up here. He caught Butler looking at him. "I'm not hugging you, forget it. Have to draw the line somewhere. Anyway, if we're all done with the tear-jerkers, we have important business. Holly, if you please?"

"Oh, right, yeah, uh…" she stammered, releasing Artemis.

"The pictures?" helped Mulch.

Holly glared at him, but said "Yeah, we need to ask you about something. Several somethings, in fact."

She turned and fished a folder out of her bag. As she handed this to Artemis, she said quietly, "We know you're not involved, but we have to make sure."

Artemis looked at her curiously before opening the folder. At first he didn't know what he was looking at, but he recognized the landscape. It was the fairy port closest to the mansion, disguised as a hill. In front of the hill was something familiar. A fairy, a gnome to be specific. It was lying awkwardly in the grass. With a jolt Artemis realized it was dead.

He flipped through the rest of the pictures, about a dozen altogether. They all showed dead fairies in front of the hidden ports. At the bottom of each page, unnoticed before, was a label with the location and date the pictures were taken. Italy, Norway, Argentina, Korea, Egypt, New Zealand, Canada. The earliest one was a month ago; the most recent one less than a week.

Artemis paled as he looked at them. Someone was killing the People, and leaving the bodies where humans could find them and the ports. "Dear God," he breathed. They all were in more trouble than he had imagined.

_Thank you to all the people who took the time to review. Your support is really appreciated!_


	4. Chapter 4: Recruit

_These chapters were added at the insistence of reviewers. See what power you guys have?_

R E C R U I T

"Tell me everything," Artemis said briskly.

"There isn't much to tell. The LEP are going insane trying to figure out what happened, and we have limited information as it is," explained Holly.

"Were there any marks on the bodies?" asked Butler unexpectedly.

"No. That's the weird thing. It looks like they just…collapsed."

"Looks like the fairy world has its first serial killer," said Mulch, sounding grim.

Holly looked troubled, as if hearing the words aloud made it more real.

"Why did you contact me?" asked Artemis.

"Commander Sool needed someone to blame for the public's sake, and-"

"I was the convenient choice," he finished, nodding.

"Yes," agreed Holly, "But like I said, we never suspected you. Even on your worst days you wouldn't do something like this."

Artemis's mouth quirked. "Nice to know someone has faith in me."

"Never doubted you for a second," called out Mulch.

Becoming grave again, Artemis asked, "What about other suspects? Who would do this?"

Answering the question Artemis had left unspoken, Holly said, "Opal has nothing to do with it. She's been in a high-security prison all these years, and is now so insane, she has to be helped feeding herself. Sad, really." She didn't look sad at all about Opal's condition.

"And anyone else, like the goblin tribes, are either too ill-equipped or too stupid to do this," added Mulch.

"So it's a brand new enemy," said Butler.

"Looks like it. We thought you guys could look it over and maybe help clarify a few things, point us in the right direction," explained Holly.

"You need the Great Artemis Fowl to help you where the LEP can't, right?" said Artemis, the old arrogance showing through. He'd meant to try to lighten the somber mood.

"Some things never change," muttered Holly, all too serious.

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Three hours later, they were no closer to a lead than they had been before. When Alfred had asked about dinner, Butler had told him to order out for five. Alfred only saw three people in the kitchen, his employer's son, the former bodyguard, and the short, smelly man, but did what was asked of him without question.

"Five? But there's only four of us," asked Holly, unshielding when Alfred left.

Butler managed to look embarrassed before clarifying. "I called Juliet before I came out. She should be here soon."

"I thought she was staying in Brazil for another two weeks," questioned Artemis.

Butler raised an eyebrow. "If she found out you were dealing with fairies without her, she'd kill you."

Artemis thought it over. "True."

Half an hour later, Juliet herself entered carrying the take-out Butler had ordered. Although in her thirties, she still had the energy of a teenager. She dumped the food on the table and promptly greeted everyone as if she had never been away.

"Hello everybody, did you miss me? Holly, how're you doing? Hey, little fairy-dude, what have you been up to? Staying out of trouble I hope. Arty, how's the business? Dom, man, what have you been doing? You look a little rough." She immediately opened the containers, revealing steaming dishes of Chinese food. "I met that stuffy guy at the door. He didn't seem to like the fact you guys had ordered out instead of having something like flambéed lamb with clam sauce and sparkling water. Hope you like springs rolls," she said with a wink.

She talked so fast it took a second for anyone to get a word in. Finally Artemis interrupted her stream of chatter.

"While we appreciate the food, Juliet, we are gathered here for a rather serious matter. Holly, can you fill her in?" He let Holly talk as he helped himself to some noodles. His inclination towards the more expensive fare had lessened over the years. Working late nights at the office didn't allow you to be picky.

Artemis leaned back in his chair, watching the people around him. Even with a dire situation on their hands, he felt content. Here they were, together again, plotting against a common enemy. He sobered for a moment as he remembered that one of their number was missing. Commander Julius Root. Holly had told him that not many people were happy with the new commander. They said while Root would have done anything necessary to get the job done, Sool was too much of a bureaucrat to be effective.

Juliet's angry cry disrupted his thoughts. "How can this happen? How can no one have seen anything? Surely there were crowds at these ports."

"There were never any witnesses," supplied Mulch.

The group sank into silence.

"How did they die?" asked Juliet suddenly.

Holly pulled another file out of her bag. "Foaly gave me a copy of the medical report before I left. There's nothing useful in it." She handed it to Juliet, who after a brief glance gave it to Butler.

Butler read it out aloud. "It says they died of unknown causes. Their brains just stopped functioning. Death was instantaneous."

Artemis would be lying if he said he hadn't felt a chill as Butler read those words.

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Deep under the earth, there lived older things than fairies. They had been there long before fairies moved underground, long before they even had a written history. These things had never seen the sun, nor did they want to. The hot liquid earth was their home, and at first they were restless. Their constant movement would cause devastating earthquakes and volcanoes. Yet they knew nothing of their effect. Slowly they calmed, and grew still. They lie in a death-like sleep now, but sometimes their slight movements could still cause chaos on the surface. The fairies once knew they existed, but they had passed into myth and legend, and were eventually forgotten. No record of them survived.

They would live as long as they earth, for they only needed the heat of the core to sustain them. They were creatures of fire and energy. Humans on the surface had a much changed and watered-down legend of these creatures, which they called dragons. These creatures under the earth had no name, for there was no one to name them, and they never named themselves. They remained undetected by human or fairy for millennia, living miles under the surface.

One of them had woken up.

_Oooo, shall I continue? Review if you say"yes." Or even if you say "maybe." Or "don't quit your day job." Whatever._


	5. Chapter 5: Reaction

_I wrote in the argument scene because one reviewer (you know who you are) wanted more of Artemis's old criminality to show through. I hope that even if I didn't quite hit the bulls-eye, I at least hit the dartboard. I think it works better like this._

R E A C T I O N

"We better get armed," said Artemis. "We don't know who or what we're dealing with."

Butler and Juliet quickly agreed. They went to collect the various fairy weapons that were still stashed away. Holly remained oddly quiet.

Trying to remain casual, Artemis suggested that Mulch go with them. After a few seconds of blankness, Mulch got the hint and left without question.

"I'm going to the living room. It's more comfortable there. Care to join me?" Artemis asked Holly.

"Sure," she answered, not quite knowing why Artemis wanted some privacy away from the others. She followed him out of the kitchen.

The living room was large, with bookshelves lining the walls, Victorian-era chairs, and a roaring fireplace.

There were a few moments of silence as Holly waited for Artemis to start the conversation. She watched him as he fixed himself a small glass of brandy. She didn't think he had been a drinker.

He turned and, seeing Holly eyeing the glass, explained. "I rarely ever have any hard liquor. Just when I've had a rough day. I think this can qualify as one of those days."

More silence. It was starting to become awkward. Artemis stood by the fireplace, not relaxed enough to sit.

Finally he broke the silence. "Why didn't you ever contact me before this?"

Holly was surprised. "I could ask the same of you," she replied. Where was this leading?

"I could have used your help over the years," he said.

This was sounding all too familiar to Holly. "What do you want, Artemis?"

He looked at her innocently. "Nothing. I want only to help."

"For something in exchange, right? What is it this time? Gold, technology, your own private villa in Haven, what?"

"How can you think such a thing?" he said, pretending to be offended. "I've changed. I want nothing for my services."

"Yeah, right."

Artemis's brow knitted, humour gone. "What are you saying, Holly?"

"I'm saying that the Great Artemis Fowl never does something for nothing."

Artemis looked down, suddenly uncomfortable. He paused before saying, "Well…"

"I knew it," Holly snapped.

"You don't even know what I was going to say."

"I can take a guess."

Artemis sighed. "In a way, you're right. I do need something of you."

"I should have known," Holly muttered, shaking her head.

"It's different this time, it's not for me-"

"Of course it's for you! You're still the same as you always were! An egotistical felon with no thought to the penalties." cried Holly, suddenly angry. "Here I'd thought you'd changed, even just a bit. But you're still trying to manipulate me! I guess I was wrong."

Artemis stared at her and carefully set his glass down. He wasn't particularly surprised by her outburst. He knew that Holly, despite all they'd been through, still didn't trust him completely. But it still annoyed him. He said in a cold voice, "I am not the same. I have changed. I'm not some greedy kid who will do anything to get what he wants, whatever the consequences to other people. I am not a cold-blooded criminal anymore. I'm not as selfish as that."

Holly openly scoffed. "You've only ever done things to help yourself! You have never done one selfless thing in your life."

"Of course I have! I told you, I'm not the same."

"Name one."

"What?"

"Name one thing you've done that was completely selfless, where you had absolutely nothing to gain from it," challenged Holly.

Artemis paused. His long career of crime had turned to more the steal and release kind, but it was not without gain. A few incidents flashed through his mind. Curing his mother's depression. But that had an ulterior motive, to keep child welfare away. Helping Holly with Opal? He needed her to save his father. Even bringing Butler back to life hadn't been as completely noble as he'd like it to be.

Artemis's long silence gave Holly her answer. "That's what I thought," she said bitterly. "Even when you were trying to help, more often than not you just made problems worse. It's only through luck and the sacrifices of your friends that you're even still alive. And what gallant deeds have you done so far, huh?" Her voice got louder and angrier. She started pacing, counting off the offenses on her fingers. "Kidnapping me? Motivated by greed. Helping us with the goblin rebellion and Opal? You needed something in return."

Artemis tried to stop her. "Holly-" he began. But she wasn't done.

"Saving Butler? You needed our help with Spiro. And then I make the stupid mistake of saving your life from Opal. And again, you wanted something out of it."

"What did I wan-" he started.

"You got to keep your memories! You got to stay in contact with the People. You were granted a privilege, in spite of everything you've done. And now you're just using us! Again!" Her voice broke on the word, but she kept from showing any emotion other than anger. She hadn't meant to lose control like this, but this apparent betrayal was too much.

Artemis felt a stab of guilt at Holly's reaction, but his own temper was rising.

"And what, precisely, do I get out of _this_ little mission? The chance to be a hero? I know it's not all it's cracked up to be. More riches? I have enough to last for three generations. Technology? My company makes the best in the world thanks to the little hoard I kept from your equipment. Tell me, Holly, what do you think I get out of risking my life and the lives of my friends? I certainly don't see an advantage."

How Holly wished she had a pair of wings so she could look Artemis in the eye instead of in the knee. Maybe then she could get in a good punch. "I don't know, but as you never tire of reminding us how intellectually superior you are, I don't doubt that you've got some sort of plan to turn a profit somehow."

Artemis glared at her before turning suddenly to stare into the fire. Although Holly had had the last word, she didn't think she'd won. Not yet. She sat down on one of the footrests and contented herself by boring holes into Artemis's back with her eyes. What had she set herself up for? To be used by Artemis once more? A very small part of her mind wondered what Artemis had wanted. But that was quickly silenced by the larger, angrier part of her mind. She almost couldn't believe it. She had come aboveground to ask for help in dire circumstances, and he wanted a prize! She sat there, fuming, while Artemis continued to stare into the flames.

In fact, Artemis had no idea what was going on behind him. His mind was a million miles away. Whenever things got too heated or too emotional, Artemis did what he did best: he thought. His mind became like a machine, analyzing the first problem he could think of. This caused many relationships to dissolve quickly. People, especially women, found him very rude when, in the middle of an argument, he would suddenly switch off and ignore them. But it was a defense mechanism. It protected Artemis from having to feel too much. He was never very good at the whole compassion thing anyway.

So while Holly was planning various evil tortures to use on him, Artemis was instead grappling with the predicament of the dead fairies. No marks…collapsed…dead in plain sight…seemingly random…no suspects. Artemis frowned. This was going to take some thought. He allowed his mind to wander, something he didn't do very often. He preferred remaining in tight control of his thoughts. He found he couldn't look away from the flames. His mind jumped from thought to thought.

_Flames…fire…forest fire…smoke…smoke was dangerous, burned your lungs…gases were released…deadly gases, could kill you…kill you without leaving a mark…without you even realizing it…_

It came to Artemis so fast he almost gasped. _Of course_, he thought. Underground, fires could smolder for years.

He turned back to Holly, all resentment and anger gone. "Holly." She looked at him, startled. "I think I know what happened," he said, a familiar glimmer in his eyes. He conveniently ignored all the problems that went with that thesis. Like why there was only one fairy dead at each site, and not more. Or why the medical report hadn't caught it. But, so far at least, it was the best idea they had.

"What?" she asked, bewildered. What was going on now?

"Can we go down to the fairy port? Now?"

"Now? But why, I mean-" Holly's confusion increased. "What's there?"

Artemis smiled that all-too-familiar vampire smile. "Trust me," he said simply.

_Yeah, right_, thought Holly. But what else could she do? She had come to him for help, and now he was helping. Sort of.

"Okay," she said in her best I'm-going-to-trust-you-even-though-I-shouldn't voice. "Round up the others and we'll go." She made to leave, but turned back at the doorway. She gave Artemis an intent look before saying quietly, "You'd better know what you're doing."

"I'm sure that this time, I do.

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They were back in the field, all five of them, in the dark, in the mud, and apparently lost. But Mulch insisted he knew exactly where they were going, so they continued tromping through the pasture. On the way Artemis tried explaining his theory to the others.

"What we need to do," he said over his shoulder to Holly, Butler, and Juliet, "is to look for any signs of burning, or anywhere gases could escape."

"And why are we doing this?" asked Mulch irritably from the lead.

"Because," Artemis explained patiently, "of African lakes." This earned him a few stares, and caused Mulch to turn around and say, "What?"

"Some African lakes can, well, belch out gases like carbon dioxide. The gas clouds then can kill anything in its path for miles. It is entirely possible something like that happened here." While Artemis's tone was confident and assuring, Butler immediately spotted several serious flaws in it. If it was a gas cloud as Artemis said, then surely they would have noticed it at the mansion. He looked over at Juliet and saw by her expression that she was thinking the same thing. They shared a look, but said nothing.

Butler remembered how Artemis had looked before they left. He was…feverish. That was the only word Butler could think of to describe the change that had come over Artemis. He was insistent that they leave as soon as possible, and was even willing to leave without all the supplies Butler had deemed necessary. It was so out of character that he thought of saying something, but held his tongue in the hopes that all would become clear when they reached the fairy port. He didn't know that this was the worst thing he could've done.

No one argued with Artemis though, because even a cracked theory was better than none at all. At least they were doing _something_, instead of sitting around eating fried pork. He pulled his coat tighter around him against the bite of the night air.

They finally arrived at the inconspicuous hill that masked the port. Holly told them to wait outside while she and Mulch made sure the port was empty. Fortunately, depending on how you looked at it, it had been closed due the unexplained deaths. All the ports had. Holly had just barely managed to wrangle a pass from Foaly on the last shuttle out.

She gave the all-clear, and the others walked through the holographic doorway. They were welcomed by a wave of heat. Even the chill of a spring night in Ireland caused some complaint among some of the more sensitive fairies. But this seemed almost excessively warm, even for them.

This wasn't noted by anyone, for they were too busy trying to shake the dew from their clothes and, in Juliet's case, their hair. Except for Artemis. He strode directly to one of the vents in the wall and began examining it.

Holly, meanwhile, was feeling uneasy. She nudged Mulch and whispered, "Hey, do you notice anything, you know, strange?"

"You mean the fact that Arty-boy clearly has no idea what he's doing?" he said sarcastically.

Holly nudged him harder. "No, I mean—well, yeah, you're right, that's weird too, but that's not what I'm talking about. I mean do you sense anything unusual?"

"Yeah, I do. You just agreed with me." Holly's glare made him change his mind about cracking any more jokes. He tilted his head as if listening for something. He frowned. "Now that you mention it…"

Creatures of magic, such as fairies, can always sense when another magical creature is nearby. This talent is not very useful nowadays since most fairies live in the cities where there are always other fairies around. But sometimes, like when they were aboveground, they could sense when another fairy was approaching. The sensation was similar to the feeling of someone watching you, but not being able to see them. Often this internal radar could be fooled or misled or downright annoying. Like when a non-magical creature was sneaking up on you. Like a human with a dart gun.

But now Holly was experiencing that feeling to the highest degree. It didn't feel like a fairy, it felt unfamiliar. Alien to her senses. She trusted her instincts and pulled out one of the modified fairy guns she gotten from the mansion.

Butler noticed the action and knelt down beside Holly. "What's wrong?" he asked quietly, although he knew that both Mulch and Juliet could hear him.

"I don't know," she replied. She raised her voice. "Artemis! Something's up. Maybe we should check it out first. Just in case."

Artemis straightened and opened his mouth to speak, probably to say something patronizing, but he never got the chance. He stopped, and a look of fear passed across his face.

Then something happened that would haunt Holly's dreams for a long time to come. Right in front of her eyes, Artemis was consumed by flames and disappeared.

_Hmmm…should I be cruel and leave you dangling, or will I get more reviews and continue? Such a predicament…_


	6. Chapter 6: Revelation

_Artemis visits his own personal hell…_

R E V E L A T I O N

He never thought he could experience pain like this and live. It was like fire, but more… It was like torture, but worse…It was like dying, but ceaseless. Artemis had no idea what was happening. And that scared him more than anything. One minute he was looking at Holly, the next he was burning alive, and moving. Downward it seemed, although nothing could be certain in his disorientated state. _This must be hell_, he thought. But he hadn't died. Had he? He couldn't remember. Maybe something happened that he didn't know about. An explosion perhaps. Or he was shot. That was it, Holly had shot him. She had her gun out. It was pointing at him. But that didn't sound quite right. They were on peaceful terms now. Why would she shoot him?

His mind was running in circles, throwing up ideas but not being able to do anything with them because of the pain. He found he was actually praying for death. At least that would end the suffering. Unless he was already dead. Then it wouldn't matter. He couldn't think, couldn't move, couldn't breathe. The burning seemed to last for eternity, and he didn't think he'd be able to stand it any longer when, to his surprise and relief, it suddenly stopped. Artemis found himself cool and motionless. Release had come. He lay there unmoving, just appreciating the absence of pain. He could breathe. He could move, if with difficulty. But more importantly, he could think. It took him a long while to notice anything. The first thing he was aware of was that he was lying on something hard. Cold stone that was starting to freeze his skin through the back of his suit. The second thing he noticed was that it was dark. Lightless, in fact. Or he had gone blind. These two details were the only things to register in Artemis's mind before he blacked out.

He regained consciousness slowly. It was still dark and cold. He couldn't tell if he was injured or not. He slowly tested out his extremities. He could still feel his fingers and toes, so that was good. Not moving anything else, he turned his head to the right. Nothing. He looked to the left. Nothing. He started to turn away when something caught his attention. He didn't really see anything, but he thought he heard something move in the distance. He knew he should have been wary of this unknown thing but his mind was still reeling.

He attempted to speak. "Who's there?" he called out. At least that's what he tried to do. What really came out was more of a hoarse wheeze. His throat was as dry as sand. He couldn't swallow, and he felt extremely dehydrated. It felt good to just lie there in the darkness.

Then he heard it. Heard it for real, not just the passing impression of sound he heard before. It was a footstep, but it sounded strange. It was almost like coals sizzling. Artemis heard it coming closer, but was too stiff to move. As it approached, he recognized its gait as bipedal. Another useless fact.

Whatever it was, it stopped close to Artemis, but not close enough for him to determine what it was. Memories of trolls hunting him down filled his mind. But if it was a troll, he'd be dead by now. Suddenly a blinding white light filled the area. Artemis cried out and turned away. It was so intense, it burned his eyes even with them closed.

For several minutes nothing happened. Artemis finally risked opening his eyes a fraction. The light was still as bright was it before, but was now a dull red color, like a dying fire. As his eyes slowly adapted, he looked around. He was in large stone chamber, really more of a cave, roughly a hundred meters long. There was no visible exit. Not that he would have been able to escape in his condition.

He turned his head slowly, steeling himself to get a look at the thing nearby. It was standing about two meters away, and nothing could have prepared Artemis for what he saw.

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For a whole thirty seconds, no one moved. They all just stared at the place Artemis had been standing. There was nothing to indicant he had ever been there. Not even a scorch mark.

It was Juliet who reacted first. "Oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God, oh God…" she repeated in a monotonous voice.

Butler was next. He ran to the spot Artemis had vanished from and looked around wildly, as if he thought Artemis would suddenly appear and yell, "Surprise!"

Mulch let loose a long string of dwarfish curses, few of them understandable to the others.

Holly stood there, unmoving, silent, and wide-eyed. He was gone. Disappeared. Vanished. Lost. She had seen the flames, heard his cry of surprise, but couldn't quite believe what happened. Artemis, gone. Her former adversary, her reluctant ally, her unscrupulous friend. Gone.

The numbing fog that filled Holly's mind was suddenly swept away by a tide of anger. No one messed with Artemis except her. No one harmed him without her permission. And no one, _no one_, caught her off guard. The officer in her took over, and she watched distantly as she flipped open her communicator and called Foaly. He would know what to do. If you couldn't get Artemis, Foaly was the next best choice. She explained the situation, not really hearing herself. She ignored Juliet's stifled sobbing, Butler's futile search, and Mulch's swearing. She dealt with the circumstances as Root would have told her to: professionally. That's what she did. It didn't matter that Foaly understand what she was talking about, or that she herself didn't know what actually happened. All that mattered was that she didn't let herself give in to her grief. Because if she did, she knew she would be admitting Artemis was dead.

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Artemis himself was wishing he was dead. That would have made more sense to him. Because the thing standing in front of him certainly didn't. It was made of fire. Artemis blinked several times to make sure he was seeing this correctly. The thing was humanoid in shape, but instead of skin or hide, in was covered what looked like cooling lava. That was what made the light. Cracks appeared in the lava and glowed brightly before closing up again. Flames licked the top of its head, making it look like it had some sort of punk hairstyle. It had no facial features to speak of, except for two large white-hot openings in the lava-skin, like the eyes on alien masks. Artemis supposed that they actually acted like a type of eye, for the thing was clearly looking at him as intently as he was looking at it.

It took a step closer, and now Artemis noticed the heat radiating off it. He coughed and tried to speak again. "Who are you?" he asked croakily.

It stared down at him so long that he wondered if it understood him. But a line split open in its head, right where a mouth would have been, and said in a voice that seemed to hold the roar of a wildfire and the soft crackling of burning wood, "I am of the earth."

While this didn't really answer his question, it did provide some information. The creature was intelligent, and it understood English. He noticed that the creature even spoke with a Dublin accent. Artemis felt confident enough to struggle into an upright position. If it meant him harm, surely it would have done so by now. While sitting up, he noticed with relief that his suit was still intact, without so much as a loose thread. The creature watched him, but made no move towards him. Finally Artemis looked up at it and asked again, "Who are you?"

"I have no name. Neither do any of my brethren. We have no need of them," it said.

"But what do others call you?" Artemis asked, frustrated. Then the significance of what it said sunk in. There were others like it. He was prevented from dwelling further on this when the creature spoke again.

"What others?"

"Fairies, the People, what do they call you? Surely they know what you are."

"What are fairies?"

_This day started out so normal,_ he thought. "You haven't seen any fairies down here?" When it didn't respond, he continued. "Where are we? Close to Haven?"

The creature paused before saying slowly, "We are under the large hollow that is full of noise. Is that 'Haven'?"

So they were miles and miles under the surface, farther down even than Haven. Absently he wondered why the heat and pressure hadn't already killed him. An anomaly in the mantle, maybe. It didn't really matter in the long run. Looking at the creature again, he decided the best way to figure out what was going on was to get it talking.

He sat crossed-legged and started off, "How do you know my language?"

"When I grabbed you, I absorbed your tongue."

Artemis formed his next question while trying to forget _that_ particular image. "So, you brought me here? Why? And how?"

"You were stronger than the others. The smaller ones went dark when I tried to transport them. You kept burning."

Artemis paused. The creature only understood concepts that related to fire, not something abstract like life and death. So, if fires had to burn to stay 'alive,' then they would die if they went out. Artemis tried to untangle the creature's statement using this knowledge. It seemed content to wait.

_The smaller ones went dark…_that must refer to the dead fairies outside the ports. _Transport…_the creature had tried to bring them down here like it did with Artemis, but they couldn't handle the stress. _You kept burning…_he survived where others didn't.

"Why did you bring me here?" he repeated. The creature only answered one question at a time.

"I wanted to learn. When I woke up, my brethren were silent. No one could teach me about the life of the sun. I had heard many stories about the sun-life."

"Sun-life. You mean life on the surface?"

"Yes," it said almost eagerly, "None of our number has seen the sun, but we know it to hold the whole earth under its sway."

Asking direct questions would take too long, so Artemis said simply, "Tell me about your brethren. I want to learn, too."

What the creature did next Artemis could only describe as sit, but in reality its legs seemed to melt under it, lowering it gently to the ground. It was quite a sight to see.

"My brethren and I live in the liquid earth. We live off its heat and have no need to seek out further means of nourishment. I am the smallest of our number, but even so I had to leave most of my mass behind. We have been silent for a thousand turns of the sun, and will probably remain so for thousands of turns to come. But I was awakened by a strange shift in the earth above me. I felt the earth move. A great amount of it moved downward towards us. It was several turns ago, but it has taken me this long to get contact with the surface." It paused as if for breath. This was probably the most talkative it had been in its whole life.

In the resulting quiet, Artemis speculated on what could have caused the shift. What could move a large enough mass of earth to be felt at the core? He smiled humourlessly when he thought if it. "Opal," he murmured. Her million-ton bullet of rock caused this. Even now, the results of her actions could be seen. She had a lot to answer for.

The creature was speaking again. "I wanted someone to tell me what happened. I was curious. About the earth shift. About the surface. About the sun. I was able to contact the creatures of sunlight through flames. The smaller ones had openings in the earth that went to the surface. I brought them there so I could transport them easier."

Artemis nodded as it all fitted together. The creature had apparently entranced him as he stared into his fireplace at home. The epiphany he had concerning the dead fairies wasn't a stroke of genius at all, it was only the creature's siren song. It convinced him to go the fairy port so it could bring him down here, wherever here was, and nearly killed him in the process. Suddenly he wondered what happened to the others. Holly and Butler, Juliet and Mulch. Did they think he was dead? Were they alright? How would he get back to them?

"Why can't you go up to the surface yourself? Why bring me down to you?" he asked.

"Those of us who tried in the past to see the sun have never returned. Some say they have found paradise, others say they went dark without the earth's heat. I didn't want to put myself in jeopardy. I have limited access to the liquid heat even here."

So, the creature wasn't only intelligent, it had common sense.

"What are going to do with me after you have your questions answered?"

The creature paused. It obviously hadn't thought of that. Artemis might have to stay down here until his air ran out or he died of thirst. It was not an attractive prospect.

Leaving the creature to think it over, he stood up, wincing with pain as his joints protested. He wasn't as young he used to be. _But I'm only thirty!_ he thought. It wasn't that old. He wasn't like Juliet, taking on every physical challenge out there. He had a desk job, for crying out loud! He was suddenly annoyed at his whole lifestyle. He wasn't a businessman; he was a criminal, albeit one with principles. The whole world saw him wrong. What was it some critic had called him? A "tanned, uber-successful, cheap-romance-novel man." The 'tan' was the result of endless lunch meetings on restaurant patios. Success? Why shouldn't he be successful? He had actually worked hard for it. And romance? He hadn't had a real relationship in ages. Not that he tried very hard.

He walked around the cave, working out the stiffness. He was right; there was no exit. It was just an air bubble in the solid mantle. He was on the side opposite the creature, who was still sitting, when he remembered his communicator. Holly had given him a new one to replace the one he had, and it was still in his jacket pocket. Although, 'given' was a loose term. In reality he had lifted one from Holly's bag of supplies, which had been conveniently left unguarded. He planned to pirate the technology from the old one, perhaps use it in a new search-and-rescue broadcasting system they were working on. The borrowed communicator was more powerful than the old, substituting a view screen for a stronger transmitter. Maybe, just maybe…

He flipped it open. There was just the faintest of signals, but it was a signal nonetheless. Hope welled up in him, but he tried to control his reactions. It might not even work. Artemis was not one given to optimism, choosing reliable facts over false hope, but he felt he was due for a miracle.

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Holly was standing outside the port, watching as the eastern sky lightened. The cool night air helped her stay clear-headed. She was just thinking about how they could go about tracking Artemis, perhaps through magical means, when her communicator buzzed. She opened it, expecting Foaly, but instead got a short shot of static. It seemed as through someone was speaking, but she couldn't make out the words. She was just about to close it when she heard her name. "Holly." Then it cut out. Her communicator automatically recorded incoming calls, so she able to play it back. It was only eight seconds long but it was enough. She listened carefully.

"Holly…-temis…fire crea…cave…ven." Artemis. He had called her. Relief flooded Holly. He was alive. Relief was quickly replaced by alarm. How to find him? He mentioned a cave. That could be anywhere. He also said something about fire. Fire creature? But that didn't make any sense. Quickly she relied the message to Foaly, telling him to clean it up as much as he could. The spark was back in her eyes. She was determined to bring Artemis back, even if it was just to make sure he never caused trouble for her again.

_Well, well, well. Should Holly rescue him or not? By the way, if you are having trouble picturing the fire creature, imagine the Balrog from the Lord of the Rings movies, but without the whip and bad-ass attitude. Thanks to all the reviewers who made it this far, the ones who supported me, threatened me, and lectured me._


	7. Chapter 7: Retaliation

_Alright, I've had a few people asking if I was stupid if to even SUGGEST that Holly not rescue Artemis (although not in so many words). Here, to put aside your fears, and your abuse, is the next, but not the last, chapter. Read and enjoy, my little ones. :creepy laugh: This is one of the longer chapters, so brace yourself._

R E T A L I A T I O N

Foaly was trying to piece together what Holly had said with what he was seeing on the surveillance tape from the port. It defied logic; Artemis couldn't just disappear, could he? No one just disappeared on Foaly's watch, not without him knowing about it. It didn't help that he couldn't actually see Artemis. He had been standing just out of frame, so all Foaly saw were the reactions of the other four.

Then there was Holly's message. Foaly had made it coherent, but that didn't mean it was understandable. The message in its entirety ran like this: "Holly, this is Artemis. I was taken by a fire creature and I'm in a cave under Haven." That was it. Foaly wondered if old Art had finally lost it. Under Haven? Fire creatures? _Genius is akin to madness_, he thought. Of course, that wasn't the case with Foaly.

He had tried to contact Artemis himself, but unsuccessfully. Without knowing which communicator he had taken, it would be too difficult to track him down. Artemis could call Holly, but she couldn't call him. Another bug in the system to work out. Why did it always take a _civilian_ to always find the weak spots?

He grumbled as he sent the enhanced message back to Holly, and idly mused about retirement. Maybe that would let him stay out of these insane escapades. Then he realized that Holly would simply employ him full-time, instead of 'borrowing' him every once in a while. It was safer with the LEP.

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Holly ran back into the port, startling everyone. "He's alive!" she cried. The others stopped and looked at her. "Listen!" She brought out her communicator and replayed Artemis's message. At the sound of his voice, Butler visibly paled and Juliet sank heavily into a chair.

Mulch broke into a huge grin. "Told ya! Didn't I tell ya? Never doubted him for a second, that boy."

"But do we have any way to find him?" Butler asked shakily.

"That's the thing. We don't know what he's talking about. We've never heard of these 'fire creatures.' Or of a cave under Haven," Holly replied.

"But we have to find him. We have to!" Juliet's voice was strained with panic. Everyone knew she cared for Artemis like a kid brother. "We can't just leave him down there!"

"I didn't say that we were going to," said Holly, trying to sound soothing. "But it may take some time finding him."

"We'd better start digging," said Mulch, looking excited at the idea.

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Artemis had no idea if Holly had received his message or not. The signal had been lost after only a few seconds. But he had tried. And now he needed a new plan. He rested his forehead against the cool rock in order to relax, and concentrate on something other than his probable death. He was like that for several minutes, when he sensed something behind him. He turned to find the creature had followed him and very close to him. The heat rolling off it was uncomfortable, but bearable.

"What is it?" he snapped, before remembering that he needed this creature to get him to the surface.

"What are you doing?" it asked.

"Nothing," said Artemis, trying to slip the communicator into his pocket. No need for it to know he had called for help.

"Then what is that?" It had seen the piece of equipment. Artemis thought fast. He had no idea how this thing would react, or even if it had emotions.

"It's just a device a fairy gave to me."

It reached out towards the little object, but before Artemis could pull away, a small arch of flame jumped on to it. Artemis watched, uncertain, as the fire encircled the communicator then returned to its owner. He had a terrible sinking feeling that the creature now knew exactly what the device was for.

The creature stared at him for a long moment, its gaze unreadable. Its eyes suddenly narrowed and it backed up a step. "You are lying. You do not want to answer my questions. You would rather leave me down here, ignorant and alone. How dare you insult me like this!"

It spread its arms out and the heat around it increased tenfold. Artemis hastily stepped back from it, watching as the cuffs of his jacket began to smolder. Flames appeared on the creature's hands, and it began to scream.

It was unlike anything he had ever heard before. It was the shriek of steam escaping wet wood in a blaze. It drilled into his skull, and he covered his ears with his palms in a futile attempt to block it out. The incredible noise had the same effect on him as the light first did. It dazed him, and he stumbled in the direction he hoped was away from the creature. A strong wind had picked up, circling the chamber and pulling at his clothes.

He saw the fireball a split second before it hit him. It was like a steel fist to the mouth, and Artemis was knocked to the ground from the force of the blow.

He shook his head and he tasted blood. His blood. Amazingly, it didn't burn him. The creature could control what burned and what didn't. For once, it was a handy observation. He looked up in time to see the next one coming towards his head. Sheer instinct made him duck. He felt it brush the back of his neck. More rained down around him.

He raised his arms in preparation to fend off the next attack, when, abruptly, it all stopped. The wind, the screaming, the fireballs. Panting hard, Artemis looked up. The creature was sagging against the wall, half the size it used to be.

"I need to be in the liquid earth. I am too far away from it here. I am burning too low," it said almost to itself as it struggled to its feet.

Artemis also stood up and wiped away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. He realized the creature was dying without the intense heat it needed, but that didn't matter to him. Now he was angry. This creature had seduced him, kidnapped him, and tried to kill him. He let the rage course through him unchecked, a rare thing for him. His eyes seemed to burn hotter than the creature's as he walked towards it. No one used him like this. No one toyed with him. That was his job. He stood over it and demanded in a hard voice, "Take me home. Now." He knew the veiled threat was empty. He was unarmed, he couldn't fight it, and he had no escape without its help. But acting like you could carry out a threat was usually just as effective as actually being able to.

"How can you survive so far away from the sun? I thought you would have weakened easily," it muttered distractedly.

"You can't kill me, unless you want to burn out yourself," Artemis pointed out.

The creature raised its head to meet his unflinching gaze with its wretched one. "What use is knowledge if you cannot glow with it?"

Artemis said nothing.

It seemed to sigh, and resigned to its fate. "I will take you to the surface. But you must grant me something in return."

"What?" he asked harshly.

"Give me a name."

This was so unexpected that Artemis's anger dissolved instantly. A name? That's all it wanted? He was suspicious, but it was so simple a task, how could he refuse?

"Why?" he asked.

"There are strange words in your head. Name. Identity. Self. Below, we are all of the fire. We have no need of 'names.' Is this is something that all sun-life has? If I learn about the sun-life, I want to be like the sun-life as well. Can you do this? Can you name me?"

He paused before answering. "Alright. I'll give you a name. Anything in particular?"

"Something that burns when you say it. Something that others will remember as the first name of our kind."

"I think I can do that."

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"Holly, I can't find anything that refers to a fire creature, not even something obscure in the Book. Maybe it was before Frond's time, if it existed at all. Are you sure about this?" Foaly was in a state. His research was pointless, and his nerves were already fraying.

"Of course. Have you checked everything? The tabloids, the conspiracy theories, the camp horror stories. I need to know what it is, and I need it now!" Holly cut the connection before Foaly could reply. Something they had never heard of had captured Artemis in a way they never expected and took him to a place they couldn't find. That guy could really pick 'em.

"Any progress?" asked Butler. They were still at the port, waiting for news.

"Not yet," replied Holly. She felt utterly useless at the moment. They could do nothing from their position.

Silence. Mulch never liked awkward silences, so he decided to break it. "I've been thinking-"

"Uh oh," said Juliet.

"-and I realized something," he continued. "All of us have been presumed dead at one time or other. In fact, you were really dead for a bit." He pointed to Butler.

"Thanks for bringing that up. You always say just the right thing at times like these," Butler said sarcastically.

"Fine," Mulch huffed. "Maybe I just won't say anything at all."

"That'd be a relief," said Holly, rolling her eyes.

The truth was they were all worried sick about Artemis. The humour was just a way of dealing with it. Holly's mind buzzed the questions. Could they find him in time? What if he was trapped down there? What was this creature he mentioned? Worrying didn't help.

Juliet stood up and announced, "I need some air. I'll just be outside." She walked outside, and soon after, Butler followed her.

"Just you and me now," said Mulch.

"Shut up." Holly's nerves were making her irritable.

Mulch got up and stood beside her. In a rare moment of sensitivity, he said quietly, "He'll be fine. He's gotten out of worse than this before, right? It'll work out. With his brains, Foal's tech, your stubbornness, and my charming personality, what could go wrong?"

Holly let out a small chuckle despite herself. Mulch was right, again. She couldn't despair yet. There was too much work to do.

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The creature had retreated to a distant corner of the chamber, leaving Artemis alone with his thoughts. Artemis sat down, thinking once again. He realized that while the creature may very well be millions of years old, it acted more like a small child. Naïve, moody, and now sullen. It was unpredictable, and therefore dangerous. He couldn't trust it. Not if it would fly into a tantrum if he said no too often. And the age-old Fowl method of trickery and deceit wouldn't work on a creature like this. Artemis heaved a sigh. He wished Butler was here. He dealt better with unpredictable situations.

He was also rather annoyed. He now depended on this creature to get him home, and he never liked depending on anyone except himself. It irked him. All in all, he was in a rather foul mood. _And on top of it all, a bad pun,_ he mentally groaned.

Another part of his mind was trying to find a suitable name for this creature. Obviously it had to have something to do with fire. But simply calling it 'Blaze' or the like seemed lazy. Perhaps Russian…

His thoughts were interrupted by a brief fireball exploding near the creature. It seemed to be hiccoughing.

_Great, _he thought._ I'm stuck underground with a temperamental Molotov cocktail and no way to escape or contact help. Things couldn't get any worse._

But that's the thing about life. It can always get worse, and it usually does. Right about then the creature got up and walked over to Artemis. Apprehension caused him to stand up as well. It looked calm, at least.

It just stood there. Waiting.

Uncomfortable under its gaze, Artemis hesitated, "I think I have name for you."

It said nothing.

"What about, perhaps, Fuego?"

"What does it mean?" it finally said.

"It's Spanish for 'fire,'" he said, relieved it didn't appear to hold a grudge. "Rather simple but-"

"Fuego," it said softly, rolling the word around its mouth. "Foo-eh-go." It seemed to make up its mind. "Yes, it is a bright name. It will burn for a long time."

"Glad you like it," he murmured, unsure of what was going to happen now. Would it keep its promise?

"You wish to return now?" it asked, all business-like.

"Yes. Very much so," Artemis replied.

"I have never done this before, so I shall have to return you through the fire where I first contacted you. Understand?"

Artemis nodded, only slightly concerned about the fact that it was an amateur.

"Good. It will be like how I transported you down here." It closed its eyes and spread its hands, preparing itself.

"Wait!" Artemis had just thought of something. "The others who were with me, I want them to know I'm back. Can you get them to the mansion?"

The creature, nameless no more, scowled at him. It changed its form until it could look Artemis in the eye, becoming incredibly thin in the process. "Why don't you tell them yourself, with that little device you had."

Artemis almost winced. Right. The communicator. It was obviously a sore spot for Fuego. But it was a good idea.

He flipped it open and noticed that a weak signal was flickering in and out of range. He had to be quick.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The communicator at Holly's hip buzzed noisily, and she nearly dropped it in her haste to answer it.

"Hello? Foaly?" No response. Just more static. But this time she was ready for it.

"…go…ansion…livi…room…"

"Go, mansion, living, room?" translated Mulch. "What does that mean?"

"It means he wants us to get our exercise. C'mon!" said Juliet as she rushed out the door.

"Great. Back into the field. This better be worth it, or I'll strangle him myself." Holly threatened.

Butler, the last to leave, smiled. He knew the threat was bogus; it just showed how relieved she was. But still, Artemis better watch out.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Alright. That's the best I can do. Now it's your turn."

Fuego turned back to him. "No more interruptions?" it asked.

"I promise," he replied with a hint of a smile.

"Good. Now, stay still." It took the same position it had before, eyes closed and hands out. Nothing happened for about three seconds.

Then Artemis's shoes started smoking.

He looked down in surprise. The Italian leather suddenly sprouted flames, which promptly crawled up his legs. It gave him a rather pleasant cooling sensation. Soon he was enveloped in flames.

_If only Holly could see me now,_ he thought.

Then he was moving, and the pain came back in full force. He blacked out.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

The others had arrived at the mansion, cold, wet, muddy, and sick with anticipation. Ignoring Alfred and his offers of refreshments, they settled in the living room. The same room Holly had argued with Artemis in just hours earlier. The sun had risen, and was burning off the light mist spread over the grounds. Of course, Mulch had complained all the way back about being exposed to sunlight, so Butler finally dumped his heavy coat on top of him. That shut him up.

Holly watched the fire. There had been a frost overnight so Alfred had stoked it up. Holly wished she hadn't spoken so harshly to Artemis. Little twerp. She hated when he made her feel guilty. She hated the feeling of wanting to punch him and protect him at the same time.

The fire was blazing merrily in the hearth. Nothing was out of the ordinary.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Artemis was awakened by Fuego. It took a moment of recollection before he understood what was happening. Fuego had brought him home. He looked around. Everything was dark around him except for a burning archway. Through it he could see the living room and, scattered on the furniture, Holly, Mulch, Butler, and Juliet. He smiled.

Then he remembered Fuego. "What are you doing here?" he asked, puzzled.

"I wanted to see the sun," it said simply. "I brought myself with you. I thought this would be the best way to learn."

"But, how will you get back?" Artemis asked. He could see now that Fuego was even thinner than before. It had lost more mass.

In a flat voice, it said, "I won't."

Artemis realized it then. It didn't have enough energy to get back. He had condemned this creature to death. It had used the last of its strength to bring him home. And now it was going to burn out. Because of him.

He stood there for a moment looking at Fuego, amazed at its self-sacrifice. He didn't say anything because there was nothing to say. He couldn't dwell on it now. It had to be saved until later. Right now, he had to make an entrance.

He walked to the archway, straightening his suit as best he could. Unknown to him, the fire in the living room had suddenly roared towards the ceiling, causing the people on the other side to exclaim a series of curses.

They saw the fire grow out of control but burn nothing. They saw something move in the heart of the flames. They saw a tall frame step out of the hearth and into the living room.

"Did you miss me?" asked Artemis.

_What an entrance! I wonder what happens next …_


	8. Chapter 8: Redemption

_This is the last chapter. People are hit, Fuego gets wet, and Alfred makes cookies._

R E D E M P T I O N

The first thirty seconds were fine. Then it began to get awkward. He expected gasps, cries of surprise, feelings of relief that he had returned. But there was nothing. They just sat there, watching him wide-eyed, waiting for something. Artemis, covered in soot and beginning to get annoyed at the lack of enthusiasm, stood in the middle of the living room. Someone coughed slightly. He could hear Alfred rattling around in the house somewhere, and he smelled baking. Cookies, most likely.

Artemis couldn't take it anymore. "Well?" he said. "Aren't you going to say anything?"

Holly slowly stood up, walked over to Artemis, looked up at him, and said matter-of-factly, using her favorite Mud Man expression, "You look like hell." Then she punched him in the knee.

Artemis went down with a cry. As if he hadn't been through enough. He landed heavily on his knees, bringing him down to Holly's eye level.

She leaned in and whispered sweetly, "If you ever do something like this again, I'll hit you a little higher next time. And a lot harder."

Artemis started to chuckle, then saw the dangerous glint in her eye. He settled for swallowing and replied, "Sure thing."

Holly walked back to the others. "He's all yours," she announced. Mulch and Juliet both were trying very hard not to burst out laughing, but snorts and giggles still managed to escape. Butler just shook his head and hoisted Artemis to his feet.

"Well?" he asked expectantly.

Artemis knew exactly what he meant but decided to play dumb. It took some effort. "Well what?" He wanted to draw this out as long as he could. He felt he deserved it.

"How'd you do it?" Mulch asked.

"It?" he said innocently.

"_Escape_, Arty" Juliet sighed impatiently. "How did you escape?"

"Oh, that! Well, it was easy. I think…" He paused for effect. "I think I shall need to refresh myself first."

Smiling wickedly, he walked out of the room and into the hallway, ignoring the cries of outrage. A full-length mirror hung on the wall. Artemis inspected himself before calling Alfred.

Holly hadn't exaggerated. He couldn't remember the last time he looked this bad. Disheveled, burned, split lip, ripped clothes, covered in dust and bruises. It was going to take more than a wash down and a dry-cleaning to fix this mess. It would also cause some questions from Alfred. He sniffed disdainfully at his image before heading for the kitchen. He felt confident he could fetch some spring water himself.

He drank half a bottle in one go. He was incredibly thirsty. Looking out the window he saw that it was late morning. Clouds were gathering in the north, promising rain. It had been about eleven o'clock at night when they got to the fairy port. He had been down there for almost twelve hours. It felt like much longer.

He nearly choked as he remembered Fuego. It was still there, in the fireplace. The flames had died down after he stepped through, but he didn't doubt that the creature was still waiting behind them.

He thought briefly of leaving it there. It would burn out eventually, right? It had seemed to welcome its fate, in fact. But that was quickly stifled. He could imagine the rant Holly would have if she found out. He actually feared her temper more than anything. Not that he would ever admit that, of course.

He strode back to living room. He disregarded the demands of the others for an explanation, and went directly to the fireplace.

"Fuego," he called softly. "You can come out. Just don't burn anything."

Fuego entered with none of the drama that Artemis had. It just materialized quietly out of the flames. It looked around with its pseudo-eyes, taking in the furniture, the walls, the floor, the people occupying the room, and their loud gasps.

_Of course, _he thought_. Fuego gets more of a reaction than I do, and they've just met it._

"Where are we?" it asked, its voice crackling with the sound of burning wood.

"We're on the surface," Artemis answered.

"In the sun?" It sounded stunned that it had actually accomplished its goal.

"Yes."

"Um, I don't mean to interrupt," started a voice from behind Artemis, "but introductions would be nice."

Artemis turned to see Mulch staring at the creature with apprehension. The others wore similar expressions.

"Oh. Right." He turned back to Fuego. "Fuego, I'd like you to meet my friends."

"Friends? Is that like fuel? They keep you burning?" Fuego asked.

"They've kept me burning many times. This is Fuego, the creature who took me," he said to the others.

"You seem pretty chummy with something that kidnapped you yesterday," Juliet said dryly.

"My views were altered," was the reply.

"Artemis," breathed Holly. She seemed to be in awe of the creature. "What have you found?"

No one noticed Fuego wander over to the window as Artemis rapidly recounted what he'd learned.

"- and they've been down there for eons. They were born from the fire of the core, and without it they burn out."

"But how many are down there?" asked Butler.

"Who knows? They don't eat, they don't age, and they don't breed. The number must stay pretty consistent."

The first drops of rain hit the glass.

"You said they had no names. How do they identify each other? How do they even know what a name is?"

"I'm not sure, but-"

"How did you even _survive_ down there?"

"There was an air pocket and-"

"How did that communicator pickup a signal?

"What, you didn't even bring back a souvenir?"

"So it just waltzed you up here, huh? How did you arrange that little deal?"

"_Stop!_" yelled Artemis. The barrage of questions ceased. "There are bigger issues here. I'll explain later."

"I want to see the sun."

All eyes turned to Fuego, still standing by the window. They had momentarily forgotten about it.

"Can we see it soon?"

Artemis walked over to it. His views had been altered, several times and quite rapidly. He remembered the flurry of emotions that the creature had caused in him. Fear, wonder, anger, concern. He wasn't sure what to think of it now. It was too intelligent to be a mere animal, but also too instinct-driven to be treated as a human. It couldn't be judged by either human or fairy standards though, because it was something entirely new. It searched for knowledge, yet it had no morals, no values, no ethics, no sense of right and wrong. All it knew was the fire. It was innocent, child-like. It just wanted to learn, regardless of the price.

"Yes. We can go see the sun."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

They were all standing outside, watching the light drizzle become heavier. Fuego had tried to direct its heat away from the floor, but little scorch marks could still be seen along the hallway. Alfred would have a heart attack if he ever found them.

The clouds broke every once in a while, allowing the sunlight to pierce through. Fuego was mesmerized by it. They stood under the porch roof, human and fairy distancing themselves from the creature.

"What happens now?" Juliet asked quietly.

"I don't know." Artemis answered, although he had a feeling that wasn't true.

The mood of the group dulled with the rain. Fuego hadn't moved from the edge of the roof for fifteen minutes. Watching a fire creature watch the rain wasn't as fun as it sounded like. No one wanted to break the silence with complaints though. Well, maybe someone did.

"I don't care what the bottle says, SPF 50 is not good enough for my sensitive skin," Mulch whined. "Do you know what'll happen if I burn? It ain't gonna be pretty. Even weak sunlight like this, it's like putting me in front of a searchlight."

Butler growled that he was welcome to stay in the house.

"Are you kidding?" Mulch cried, switching gears. "And miss this action? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity! I wouldn't miss this for all the gold under the earth." He paused. "Well, maybe not that. Maybe just for all the gold in Art's bank account." It was hard to tell if he was kidding or not.

"Don't touch my gold," Artemis muttered distractedly. "And don't call me Art."

"You've always been touchy about the name thing, haven't you? Take this, for example. I mean, come on, use a little imagination. Fuego? It's a bit obvious. I would've called it Sparky."

Artemis looked down at the dwarf, eyebrow raised. The others followed suit, their faces showing varying degrees of disgust and disbelief.

"What?" he said defensively.

Holly was just about to reply when Fuego suddenly moved out from under the roof. It walked into the steady rain, hands raised. The raindrops that managed to hit it turned to steam.

"What is this?" it asked.

They all moved forward, closer to it, as inquisitive about Fuego as it was with the weather. "It's called rain. It's water," called Artemis.

"Why can't I touch it?"

"You're too hot."

"Then I shall cool down."

Curious, Artemis walked closer to it, heedless of the water soaking through his suit. It was ruined anyway. The steam coming off Fuego was thicker now, shrouding it and making it hard to see.

When Artemis was standing as close to it as he could, he asked, "What are you going to do now?"

"Below, we knew of the sun. But we never knew of this…substance. What did you call it? Water?"

"Yes." He looked back to the porch. The others were staying under the roof, still a little unsure of this creature. But they hung back to also give Artemis some privacy. He appreciated it.

The steam cleared a bit, allowing him to see that Fuego was losing mass by the second. The effort to keep burning in the heavy rain was taking its toll. It became less like lava, and more like a walking stick figure set on fire.

Artemis knew what was coming. He was surprised to feel a little sad by its death. It didn't deserve it after what it had done to get here.

"How will your brethren know of the water? Or of your name?" he asked.

Fuego was too enthralled with the rain to really pay attention to Artemis. "There will be no one to tell them. They shall have to see for themselves. Maybe they can return and tell the others. They will add it to our surface-lore."

It seemed to finally notice that the rain had reduced it to little more than a flicker of flame. It turned to him. "I never learned your name," it realized.

"It doesn't matter." Artemis shook his wet hair out of his eyes.

"Then I thank you. For my name. Fuego will burn for a long time in memory, if only in yours." It reached out to Artemis, laying its hand on his arm. "And for letting me see the surface."

Again, Artemis didn't say anything.

"You will also burn in memory." It was barely visible now. It lifted Artemis's hand to his face. His skin was burning without pain or harm. He inspected it, watching the flames lick his fingers. Slowly, the fire died out, leaving his hand unmarked. When Artemis looked up, Fuego was gone. Burned out.

"Thank you," he whispered to the empty air.

Sighing with regret, he turned back to the porch and the waiting spectators. He was glad the rain hid his tears.

He hadn't cried since Holly pulled his father out of the freezing Russian ocean.

When he reached his friends, they didn't say anything. They didn't need to. They all started back inside, Artemis bringing up the rear. Holly was in front of him. Before she went inside, she turned back to him. Artemis expected her to say something about how cruel it was to let a creature like that destroy itself for no reason.

"You did a good thing," she said simply, then left him alone outside. Artemis stayed there, watching the rain and thinking about fire.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It was several days later when Holly finally got the courage to ask Artemis something very important.

"When I first got here, after dinner, and we…disagreed," Artemis smiled at that, "you said that you needed something in exchange for your help, that it wasn't for you. What was it?"

Artemis thought for a moment before answering. It seemed so absurd now. "It doesn't matter. I helped you, you helped me. We're even."

Holly shook her head. "But I didn't help you. Fuego brought you back on its own. I didn't do anything. Come to think of it, you didn't really help with the dead fairy mystery, either," she added.

Artemis grinned his vampire smile. "So? That makes us even then."

"But what did you want?" Holly persisted.

"Holly," he said, "Forget about it. It isn't important now."

"Figures," she muttered darkly. She knew she would never find out if he didn't want her to.

Artemis only laughed, a devilish light in his eyes.

T H E E N D

_I told you there'd be cookies! Good old Alfred. But on to the serious bit. I would like to thank all my reviewers, and the many people who read this but didn't review. I will personally thank those loyal few who stuck by me. _

_:clears throat: _

_**CoffeeAndCherryBrandy:** for the tough love and the inspiration._

_**hollybridgetpeppermint:** for_ _yelling at me to get busy and update. BANZAI!_

_**Linwen:** for nominating me for the Orion Awards._

**_PinkAngel30, Pirates For Life, Spring Pearl, A Cup Of Earl Grey, Bunny-Rabbit-Jack, Brizo, M.S.K., Love.Heals, Red-LEPrecon of Gryffindor, Audrey G. Black and athleticsrulz:_ **_for just plain reading and reviewing. Thanks guys!_

_Disclaimer: A bit late, isn't it? Do I really have to say that I don't own Artemis Fowl? If I did, I would never fail a homework assignment again, i.e. as my prisoner, he would do it all for me._


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